Republican Party's voter suppression efforts are undeniable

In her letter to the editor of Jan. 2, Sue Polidura, chairwoman of the Portsmouth Republican City Committee, takes exception to my criticism of Republican voter suppression efforts. Let's look at the facts.

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seacoastonline.com

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Posted Jan. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Posted Jan. 4, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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Jan. 3 — To the Editor:

In her letter to the editor of Jan. 2, Sue Polidura, chairwoman of the Portsmouth Republican City Committee, takes exception to my criticism of Republican voter suppression efforts. Let's look at the facts.

Over the last several years, the Republican Party throughout the country has made a systematic effort to make it harder for qualified voters to vote, particularly for groups that tend to vote Democratic (the young, racial minorities and the poor). According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, in 2013 Republicans introduced legislation making voting more restrictive in 33 states.

In North Carolina, for instance, the Republican legislature passed bills that were signed into law by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory that require photo identification to vote, eliminate same-day voter registration, reduce the early voting period, and eliminate pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-old citizens.

Closer to home, during the 2011-2012 session of the New Hampshire legislature Republicans held veto-proof majorities in both houses and Bill O'Brien was the speaker of the House. Over the vetoes of Democratic Gov. John Lynch, they passed two laws that restricted voting rights. One dealt with voter identification, the other with the matter of domicile. As of now, neither law has been fully implemented, due to additional legislation and a lawsuit, respectively.

These Republican efforts to restrict voting rights are profoundly anti-democratic, plain and simple. An important part of American history has been the effort — heroic in many cases — to expand voting rights. Remember, when our country was founded in the 18th century, only property-owning white males could vote. We've come a long way since then. Sadly, today's Republican Party is trying to take us backward in this regard.

These shameful and outrageous efforts by the Republican Party to prevent qualified voters from voting should be repudiated by every American who cares about our democracy. I will continue to speak out on this issue as long as necessary.